Responsibilities for sharing information

Responsibilities of doctors

Declaring work

Doctors must inform their responsible officer of all the organisations or settings in which they provide medical services. This:

• includes any locum or self-employed practice and any work for online providers 
• must happen at least once a year as part of the appraisal process. 

Keeping this information up to date is a matter of probity, essential to whole scope of practice appraisal and the sharing of information under these principles.

Doctors working in UK training programmes must declare all work undertaken outside training – including locum roles – on their Form R or electronic equivalent.

Suspensions / restrictions

In line with Good medical practice, doctors must immediately inform:

• the responsible officer or senior medical officer - at every location in which they work 
• any patients they see independently

if they:

• are suspended from a medical post, or 
• have restrictions placed on their practice by any organisation

Appraisal documentation

Appraisal documentation is confidential. It is routinely accessed by the doctor, their appraiser(s) and their responsible officer or suitable person. 

Doctors may have a contractual or other requirement to share appraisal information with employers or contracting bodies. Any such agreement is separate from revalidation requirements.

Responsibilities of responsible officers and approved suitable persons

When receiving information about a doctor who is connected to them, responsible officers must:

• take appropriate action in response
• bear in mind the needs of patients and of the doctor concerned.¹

This includes information received from outside the doctor’s designated body.

Sharing information

Where a responsible officer becomes aware of information about a doctor that could affect the safety or confidence of patients, they should share that information with all places where the doctor is known to be working in a medical capacity.

If a responsible officer has concerns about a doctor who is no longer connected to them, they should share these with the doctor’s new responsible officer. In situations where the doctor’s new employment has yet to be confirmed, it may be appropriate to delay: responsible officers should have reference to the GMC’s ethical guidance on writing references and relevant local advice about pre-employment checks.

Where the doctor concerned no longer has a revalidation connection, the previous responsible officer should: 

• take appropriate steps to protect patients
• remind the doctor of their responsibility to bring the matter to the attention of their next responsible officer and to practise only within their competence
• retain information for transfer to the doctor’s future responsible officer. Information about previous connections can be viewed by the doctor’s current responsible officer or suitable person via GMC Connect.

Making recommendations

When making a revalidation recommendation about a doctor, responsible officers should consider clinical governance information from each organisation where the doctor works. This information may come from appraisals or directly from the organisations concerned.

1 Good medical practice (paragraph 51) states ‘You must be compassionate towards colleagues who have problems with their performance or health. But you must put patient safety first at all times’.

Responsibilities of organisations who use the services of licensed doctors (but do not act as their designated body)

Any organisation using the services of a licensed doctor must:

• inform that doctor’s responsible officer of any concerns that could impact on patient safety or public confidence as soon as they arise.

It may also be appropriate to directly contact other organisations where the doctor works, or liaise with doctor’s responsible officer about doing this. The priority line of communication must be with the doctor’s responsible officer because they have a statutory responsibility in relation to fitness to practise.

Organisations that use the services of locum doctors should provide appropriate feedback in the exit report to the locum agency.

Duty to inform

All organisations or individuals who employ, contract with, or award practising privileges to licensed doctors should place those doctors under a continuing duty to immediately inform them if they become subject to investigation or have restrictions imposed on their practice.